Learn About the Oldest Tartan, Found to Date Back to 16th Century
From the BBC News, "A scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog 40 years ago is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland, new tests have established. The fabric is believed to have been created in about the 16th Century, making it more than 400 years old."
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"It was found in a Glen Affric peat bog, in the Highlands, in the early 1980s. The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) commissioned dye analysis and radiocarbon testing of the textile to prove its age.
Using high resolution digital microscopy, four initial colours of green, brown and possibly red and yellow were identified. The dye analysis confirmed the use of indigo or woad in the green but was inconclusive for the other colours, probably due to the dyestuff having degraded. No artificial or semi-synthetic dyestuffs were involved in the making of the tartan, leading researchers to believe it predates the 1750s.
Experts have said the tartan was more than likely worn as an "outdoor working garment" and would not have been worn by royalty. The STA said the textile was created somewhere between 1500 and 1655, but the period of 1500 to 1600 was most probable. This makes it the oldest known piece of true tartan discovered in Scotland."
Click Here, or the image below, to learn more about the historical significance of this tartan.
(Photos from the BBC News website by Alan Richardson)
